County council has officially set the local direction for the coming years.

Finalizing and approving its Strategic Plan, council’s eight-point document was refined from an original 12 areas of focus, now setting out a structure until 2030.

Goals include building strong communities to support residents’ diverse needs; managing, investing and planning for sustainable infrastructure; cultivating economic diversification through a “business-friendly environment”; and ensuring “effective stewardship” of resources including water, land, air and energy.

The four other points focused on would “foster collaboration” through partnerships, including regional, community and governmental; providing facilities and services; providing public engagement and communication opportunities; and, fostering an “environment for safe communities.”

Upon being brought forward to council, the Strategic Plan — dubbed by administration as “a major milestone, and a cause to pause and celebrate” — found not only unanimous support from across the bench, but also unanimous praise.

“(Administration) did a great job of shepherding the vision and helping us to refine some ideas here,” Coun. Bill Tonita said.

He added specific support for areas on economic diversification — “There’s nothing ambiguous about these statements at all; they’re crystal clear, and they send a message to our business community as to the message they want to see” — and sustainable infrastructure work — “It’s clearly stated and there’s no question about where we head when we talk about the results.”

The business side of the document drew support from numerous council members, including Coun. Dave Anderson, who said that through the strategic plan, “the economic growth that’s going to happen for our community, it’s really as big as we dream it to be.”

Anderson said Strathcona County doesn’t experience some of the “struggles” other municipalities face, as the county “has been thoughtful.”

“I have not been part of a strategic planning process that was so thoughtful,” he said. “Everybody took a chance to listen to each other, to hear what was being said, and to quantify it.”

Coun. Glen Lawrence looked at the piece more holistically, stating: “I don’t really see it as eight goals; I see it as one big goal, and it interchanges throughout. There’s no one priority; it fits when we need it to. I think it’s great,” while Coun. Paul Smith said the plan works well for all of Strathcona County, adding: “I think it will help us stay focused as a specialized municipality, as a council, as an administration, as a community, and hopefully, as a region.”

With a light-hearted conversation surrounding the document, Coun. Brian Botterill quipped, “I wonder how many of these will end up getting swiped by other municipalities in the next year or two. Hopefully it’s copyrighted.”

However, on a more serious note, he added: “It speaks to why we do what we do, and what is needed to make us Canada’s most livable community. I think we often get asked what that truly means, and I think we now have a document to actually show what we mean.”

“We have prioritized what we do, and we’re not attempting to be all things to all people, which I think is one of the biggest challenges for a municipality.”

Botterill added his support, specifically, for the inclusion of regional cooperation in the Strategic Plan, stating it “will show leadership, for sure.”